Novo Nordisk: The Weight-Loss Pill Is the New Growth Driver
For years, injections have been the standard for weight-loss medications. But the market is currently changing rapidly. The Wegovy tablet, approved this year, brought in around USD 500 million for the Danish company in the second quarter, marking the strongest US launch ever for a GLP-1 drug. Competitor Eli Lilly’s pill, Foundayo, has generated only USD 98 million since its April debut. In addition, a low-dose version is being tested in a study involving 450 patients. The tablet lowers the barrier to entry.
On September 17, the Copenhagen-based biotech company Orbis Medicines announced a research alliance with Novo Nordisk worth up to USD 1.4 billion. At its core, the alliance focuses on oral macrocycles for cardiometabolic diseases, developed on an AI-powered platform. Novo is also joining as an investor and will pay upfront and milestone payments, in addition to tiered royalty fees. One day earlier, the company had announced a collaboration with AI provider Anthropic, following a similar move with OpenAI earlier this year. If this succeeds in giving research a boost, the pipeline beyond semaglutide could expand.
On September 14, the company announced it would go by Novo going forward, along with a redesigned logo. It plans to outline its new strategy in London on September 21. Recent setbacks demonstrate that action is needed. Two late-stage cardiac studies with ziltivekimab were halted because no sufficient benefit was observed. Although the forecast has been raised twice recently, the projection for adjusted revenue in 2026 remains at 0 to minus 6%. At least the EMA committee recommended approval of the haemophilia drug Frehemgo on September 17.
BioNxt Solutions: Progress Is Being Made
On September 8, 2026, BioNxt Solutions announced the launch of a comparative pharmacokinetic study in China. In a crossover design, six beagles will receive two of the company’s proprietary sublingual everolimus films and a 1-mg oral reference product, with a seven-day washout period between each administration. Everolimus is well-established in transplant medicine but has a narrow therapeutic index. A high-fat meal reduces the peak concentration by about 60%. This is precisely where the sublingual film is intended to make a difference. According to the service agreement, the testing program is scheduled to be completed approximately two months after receipt of payment. If the film can be shown to provide more consistent absorption, this will pave the way for human trials.
The centrepiece remains BNT23001, a cladribine oral dissolvable film for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. On August 19, 2026, the Canadian team announced completion of the investigational product dossier, which is currently undergoing its final technical review before submission with the clinical trial application in Europe. Prior to this, the GMP batch for the trial and local tolerability tests had already been completed. A bioequivalence study against Mavenclad in healthy volunteers is planned. In addition, patents have been granted in Europe and Eurasia, and the US application is proceeding under an accelerated review process. Approximately 45% of MS patients have difficulty swallowing. The opportunity is clear.
Financing was finalized last month. On August 21, six unsecured convertible notes totaling USD 5.475 million at 8% interest were each extended by one year; the new maturity dates now range from November 2027 to March 2028. The extension was funded with 16.9 million warrants; no new debt was issued. This means the pressure to repay debt has been lifted for now, and the funds remain where they are needed most. The third program also benefits from this. The semaglutide dissolvable film is already in active formulation work and offers further potential. If the development is successful, the company will have a foothold in the GLP-1 market.
Evotec: A Weak Half-Year, but with a Glimmer of Hope
Anyone looking to bring a drug candidate through to clinical trials needs laboratories, process development, and manufacturing capabilities. That is exactly what Evotec offers. The Hamburg-based company conducts research in the Drug Discovery & Preclinical Development segment for pharmaceutical and biotech clients. Through its subsidiary Just Evotec -Biologics, it also provides antibody manufacturing. When it comes to tablets, the group is focused on implementation. For Niagen Bioscience, it is conducting the preclinical studies for the oral drug candidate NB4168, carried out via the INDiGO platform at its Verona site. However, Evotec does not possess its own technology for oral peptides.
In the first half of 2026, Evotec generated revenue of EUR 300.1 million. In the same period the previous year, revenue was EUR 371.2 million. Adjusted EBITDA fell to minus EUR 42.7 million, compared to a loss of just minus EUR 1.9 million a year earlier. Delayed milestone payments and protracted contract negotiations forced management to lower its forecast in July. For 2026, the company now expects revenue of EUR 570 to 610 million and adjusted EBITDA between minus EUR 70 and minus EUR 105 million. Operationally, the group is in the valley of tears.
Recently, however, the group has also made progress. On September 9, 2026, Just Evotec – Biologics launched a Phase 1 trial with JST-018, an antibody cocktail against orthopoxviruses developed under a contract from the US Department of Defense. The two contracts for this program total USD 123.9 million. The Horizon cost-cutting program is expected to generate approximately EUR 75 million annually by the end of 2027, with 20 to 30% of that amount coming as early as 2026. If the ongoing partnership negotiations reach a breakthrough, the deferred revenues will be realized in 2027. If the deals fail to materialize, the loss phase will be extended. The share price trend clearly shows that the company is under pressure.
The shift from injections to tablets has blockbuster potential. Novo Nordisk is demonstrating with its Wegovy tablet and Orbis deal just how quickly the market is shifting, but it must close pipeline gaps. BioNxt Solutions impresses with sublingual films, its advanced BNT23001 pipeline, new patents, and extended financing. Evotec is struggling with a weak half-year and a forecast downgrade, but could achieve a turnaround with the new contract for JST-018 and its cost-cutting program.
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